The World Tri Update: English Channel Conquered!

Remember the World Tri? I first wrote about it back at the end of June when adventurer Charlie Wittmack set out on his 12,000 mile "triathlon" that was to begin with a swim leg across the English Channel, after which Charlie would climb on a bike and ride from France to Calcutta, India. The third, and final leg, would be a journey on foot from Calcutta to Nepal, where he would complete the "tri" by making an attempt on the summit of Everest next spring.

According to this report, Charlie has conquered the first leg of the journey by swimming across the English Channel yesterday in 11 hours and 59 minutes. He set out from Dover, England and swam 21-miles before coming ashore in Calais, France, becoming just the fourth person to climb Everest and successfully swim the Channel. Wittmack topped out on the world's highest mountain back in 2003.

Now, he'll rest up for a few days before getting on the bike and starting the next leg of the trip. It's a long peddle to Calcutta, but that'll probably seem easy once he gets on foot for the final trek to the Himalaya. But if it is any consolation, most triathletes say that the swimming leg is the hardest. We'll see if that proves to hold the true here as well.